Fortuna Air Force Station

Infobox Military Structure
name= Fortuna Air Force Station
partof=
location= west of Fortuna, North Dakota
coordinates= coord|48|54|11|N|103|52|22|W|


caption=Circa 1977 historical photograph
type= Air Force station
code=
built=
builder=
materials=
height=
used= April 1952–July 1979 (main site),
April 1952–1984 (GATR)
demolished=
condition=
ownership= sold to civilians, subsequently forfeited to county auditors
controlledby= United States Air Force
garrison= 780 AC&W Sqdn
commanders=
occupants=
battles=
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Fortuna Air Force Station (Fortuna AFS) was an 33-acre Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) facility at approximately 2285' elevation AMSL, located west of Fortuna and north of Alkabo in north-western North Dakota. It was active from 1952 through 1979 as an AC&W facility, and from 1979 through 1984 as a Long-Range Radar (LRR) facility. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened a new minimally-manned radar facility about half-way between Sidney, Montana, and Watford City, North Dakota, (just off of Highway 68) before the Fortuna radars were decommissioned.

History and lineage

* Activated c. April 1952 as Pinetree Line site P-27;
* Redesignated as USAF site Fortuna Air Force Station;
* Reallocated as a BUIC II site;
* Reallocated to SAGE in 1961 as site Z-27;
* Reallocated c. 1969–1 January 1974 as a BUIC III site;
* Main site inactivated on 1 July 1979, GATR facility retained for Long-Range Radar (LRR) network operations;
* GATR site inactivated c. 1984.

Buildings and facilities

Buildings on the station include:; Recreational Services: Gymnasium, tennis courts, horseshoe pits; Motor Pool; Headquarters Building: Library; Dining Hall; Medical Aid Station; Base Housing: 45 houses: 3 dormitories: NCO dorm: 6 BOQ (Bachelor Officer Quarters) units: trailer court (20 units); Officer's Lounge ("Hilltop Inn"); NCO Open Mess; Radar Tower; Radome; Dental Clinic; Base Exchange; Auto Hobby Shop; Base Theater

The Ground to Air Transmitter-Receiver (GATR) facility was located off-station at coord|48|53|05|N|103|53|03|W, roughly one mile south of the main station.

Assigned units

* 780th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Current use

The station was bought by private investors that pillaged the site and stripped the site of anything of value and sold it off. After this "salvage", the site was forfeited to Divide County over a valuation dispute, and now sits half-demolished, useless as a facility, and abandoned.

References

* cite book
last = Winkler
first = David Frank
authorlink =
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editor =
others = Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command
title = Searching the skies : the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program
origdate =
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edition =
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date =
year = 1997
month =
publisher = Headquarters Air Combat Command
location = Langley AFB, VA
language =
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oclc =
doi =
id = LCCN|97|0|20912
pages =
chapter =
chapterurl =
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External links

* [http://www.radomes.org/museum US Air Defense Radar museum]